Alfonso VII of Leon

Alfonso VII "el Emperador" of Leon (1 March 1105-21 August 1157) was King of Galicia, Leon, and Castile from 1126 to 1157, succeeding Urraca of Leon and preceding Fernando II of Leon and Sancho III of Castile. Alfonso gained his nickname because of his declaration that he was the "Emperor of All Spain", and he was the first member of the House of Ivrea to rule over Spain; his mother Urraca of Leon was the last member of the House of Jimenez, and she married Raymond of Burgundy.

Biography
Alfonso was born on 1 March 1105, a son of Raymond of Burgundy and Urraca of Leon. His mother was Queen of Leon, Castile, and Galicia, having inherited these lands from her father Alfonso VI of Castile, whose only son Sancho Alfonsez died at the Battle of Ucles in 1108. In 1111, he was annointed King of Galicia with his mother as co-ruler, but it would not be until Urraca's death in 1126 that he was able to exercise control of all of her domains by herself. Alfonso I of Aragon gave Alfonso recognition, and the Leonese king Alfonso proceeded to curb the power of the barons in his domains. In 1134, when Alfonso of Aragon was killed by the Moors, Alfonso VII of Leon decided to enforce his claim to the throne, conquering Zaragoza and occupying La Rioja. He also defeated the joint armies of Navarre and Aragon, forcing Garcia Ramirez of Navarre and Ramiro II of Aragon to become his vassals. He also helped Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona in uniting the Catalan counties under his rule.

In 1135, with all of Christian Spain owned or vassalized by Alfonso, he declared himself "Emperor of All Spain". However, he lost the 1141 Battle of Valdevez to Afonso Henriques, who secured the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal. The pious Alfonso turned his attention towards campaigning against the Moors, taking Oreja in 1139, Coria in 1142, and Almeria in 1147 (the first Castilian seaport on the Mediterranean Sea). He gave Almeria to the Republic of Genoa, and in 1157 the Almohads would reconquer the city from the crusaders. Alfonso died in August 1157 while returning from an expedition against the Moors of Almeria.